Determination of trace uranyl ion by thermoresponsive porphyrin-terminated polymeric sensor

Uranyl ion exists at trace levels in the environment and can cause severe adverse effects to human health. Therefore, it is desirable to develop analytical methods that can determine the trace uranyl ion in aqueous medium. We report here a new method using a thermo-responsive polymeric fluorescent sensor. Specifically, 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)-porphyrin terminated poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (TCPP-PNIPAM) was synthesized by controlled free radical polymerization for the detection of uranyl ion. The maximum fluorescence intensity at ~ 658 nm of TCPP-PNIPAM increases with molecular weights and is also closely related to the temperature. The polymeric sensor is sensitive to pH (1.0 ~ 5.0) with a fast responsive time (~ 3 min). Under optimized experimental conditions, the sensor exhibits a stable response for uranyl ion with high selectivity over a concentration range from 1.0 × 10(-3) to 1.0 × 10(-7)mol/L. For the trace uranyl ion (such as 1.0 × 10(-8) or 10(-9)mol/L), the determination could be successfully achieved after concentrating 100 times by centrifugation above 32°C. The properties enable the polymeric sensor to have great potential for environmental application.